Knockaround Guys - 2001

New Line Cinema, Lawrence Bender Productions

Directed and Written by Brian Koppelman ,David Levien

Cast:

• Matty Demaret – Barry Pepper
• Chris Scarpa – Andy Davoli
• Johnny Marbles – Seth Green
• Taylor Reese – Vin Diesel
• Teddy Deserve – John Malkovich
• Sheriff Decker – Tom Noonan
• Benny “Chains” Demaret – Dennis Hopper
• Brucker – Kevin Gage

Story: Matty Demaret is 13 years old, and he has to make a decision. Teddy Deserves has Benny Boulevard in a basement trussed up like a prize turkey and tells Matty this is the guy responsible for his dad, Benny Chains, being in prison. Teddy hands Matty a gun and tells him its time to step up and be a man. But Matty is 13 years old, and can't pull the trigger.
Now Matty is in his early twenties, and he and his three friends are finding life just a little more difficult than they thought. Matty has the education and some experience in sports and wants to become a sports agent, but when his dad's name is brought up, its “thanks, but no thanks”. Chris Scarpa runs his dad's restaurant, Taylor Reese works as an vending machine distributor, and Johnny Marbles is a cokehead who has his own airplane. Their fathers, all old school mafia, have brought them up “privileged”, so they have never been involved with the dirty end of the business. Matty, since he can't get a job in his field, decides he wants to work for his father. A job comes up, a job that requires almost no effort. Benny needs a loan, and the guy loaning the money is in Seattle. Matty gets Marbles to fly out to Seattle to pick up the money and fly straight back. But when he stops for fuel in Wibaux, Wyoming, he gets paranoid when he sees the local sheriff and his deputy in the terminal and drops the bag in the baggage for a departing flight. Marbles screws up, and Matty, Scarpa, and Taylor have to fly out to Wibaux to find the bag and the money before the local authorities do.

Review: This films proves the consistency of Murphy's Law. If anything can go wrong, it will, at the worst possible time. Barry Pepper, Vin Diesel, Seth Green and Andy Davoli are all the privileged sons of mob bosses and it shows. They are caught in between their fathers' world and the straight word, and neither world has a place for them it seems. Dennis Hopper and John Malkovich play the boss and underboss to the hilt, two old school “Gumbas” who have a heavy rep and a lot of street cred. When Matty and his “crew” are finally given a chance to prove themselves, Marbles, who swears he is off the nose candy, screws up and forces them to come to his location to bail him out. Seth Green is Marbles, and out of the entire cast, he is the most believable character. I mean, face it, Seth Green has made a living out of being the perpetual screw up, and will likely continue in that role forever. Barry Pepper makes an effort to come off as the crew leader, but he is relying on everyone else to make decisions and call the shots for him. Vinnie comes off as a typical enforcer, a street thug who does have one of the best scenes in the film when he beats the hell out of Brucker, the small town hood who “runs” Wibaux. Andy Davoli has the smoothness of Hugh Hefner when it comes to the ladies, but lacks the mobster mentality. You have to ask yourself what he is doing in the crew. Tom Noonan gives an adequate but two dimensional performance as the Sheriff, and the entire movie comes off like a bad cartoon. Rated R for violence, drug use, and language, this one can stay on the shelf for a long time before anyone rents it, and then its gonna be someone who really likes one of the great actors in the film. Not collectible, and I am sure some of these actors are trying to buy up the copies.

Find Me Guilty - 2006

Yari Film Group Releasing, Bob Yari Productions, Syndicate Films International

Directed by Sidney Lumet

Cast:

• Jackie DiNorscio – Vin Diesel
• Nick Calabrese – Alex Rocco
• Ben Klandis – Peter Dinklage
• Sean Kierney – Linus Roache
• Judge Finestein – Ron Silver
• Bella DiNorscio – Annabella Sciorra
• Marina DiNorscio – Aleksa Palladino

Story: Based on the true story of 1986-87 trial The United States v. Anthony Accetturo et al., this film focuses on Giacomo “Jackie Dee” or “Fat Jack” DiNorscio, the convicted drug dealer and distributor for the Lucchese family. This fictionalized account (names changed to protect the innocent?) gives us a character study of probably the last “stand up” guy in the mafia. Jackie is already serving a thirty year sentence for possession with intent to distribute cocaine when he is called to the federal prosecutor's office and offered a deal: Testify against your mob associates and we will cut time off your sentence, maybe even set you up with witness protection. Jackie tells Kierney, the prosecutor, in no uncertain terms to go to hell, and the trial is on. Kierney takes in personally, having all privileges revoked from Jackie in prison, including his old beat up recliner removed from his cell, which he has due to a bad back. During the trial, we witness the treatment of DiNorscio, who has chosen to represent himself, by the feds, by the judge, and by his peers. While most of the co-defendants remain friends with Jackie, Nick Calabrese, the “Don” of the Lucchese family, is rude and abusive to Jackie, blaming him for almost every nuance of the trial that appears not to go in their favor. There are some moments of comedy when Jackie talks to the jury, but the real drama comes when this mobster confronts the witnesses against him, including his own cousin, who tried to murder him in his home.

Review: If you were expecting another action adventure film with Vinnie Diesel, guess again. This film is one where Vin has to act, and I mean act. And he does it amazingly well. The plot is well laid out and sets a logical foundation from start to finish. While a failure at the box office, this film is one of the great underground sleepers everyone who is interested in the real history of the “Mafia” in the US should see. Vin portrays “Jackie Dee” DiNorscio, probably one of the last “Stand Up” guys in the mob, unwilling to sell out his friends and family to get a reduced sentence. In the courtroom, he is a fly in the ointment, and a pain in the judge's rear end. As his own attorney, he makes procedural and other mistakes the defense attorney's are uncomfortable with. While most of the other mobsters are okay with Jackie, Alex Rocco (as Nick Calabrese, Don of the Lucchese family) is brusque, rude, and downright condescending to him, accusing him of selling out for a deal. Throughout the trial, Vinnie remains solid, and is supported by Ben Klandis (played by Peter Dinklage). Dinklage gives an amazing performance as the dwarf attorney who is surprisingly adept at presenting his case. Ron Silver is prefect as the judge, showing only as much emotion as he needs, and trying to be fair in his rulings. Linus Roache shows us the firm, determined persona we were used to when he took over for Jack McCoy in the final seasons of Law and Order, and this was not his first time working with Vin. They were previously together in The Chronicles of Riddick. Annabella Sciorra and Alexa Palladino are also excellent in their roles as Jackie's wife and daughter. And Hat's Off to the casting department for presenting us with a list of Italian names not seen since the Godfather films. I guess they felt you had to be Italian to understand what was up at the time. Rated R for language and some brief but brutal violence, this may not be a film for the family, but it is definitely one for Vin fans and anyone who likes an unpretentious legal docudrama. Collectible? Depends on your taste.

Babylon A.D. - 2008

Babylon, MNP Entreprise, Studio Canal

Directed by Mathieu Kassovitz

Cast:

• Toorup – Vin Diesel
• Sister Rebecca – Michelle Yeoh
• Aurora – Melanie Thierry
• Gorsky – Gerard Depardieu
• The High Priestess – Charlotte Rampling
• Finn – Mark Strong
• Dr. Newton – Joel Kirby

Story: Toorup, a free-lance mercenary living in Russia, is approached by an underworld boss (who travels in an armored personnel carrier with tanks and several squadrons of bodyguards) to deliver a package to New York. This is particularly important for Toorop because it will provide him with the opportunity to return to the United States. He is currently on the terrorist watch list and can not gain admission. The package turns out to be a young woman, Aurora, who has lived her entire life in the oldest, most isolated convent on the planet. She is accompanied by Sister Rebecca, her teacher, surrogate mother, and protector. As they travel, Toorup learns the girl possesses unusual powers. As they are moving forward through a throng of people to board a train, she suddenly begins screaming and running the opposite direction, just before a bomb explodes. Other incidents along the way begin to make Toorup suspicious of exactly who or what she is. When they reach New York, the truth is revealed.

Review: Vin Diesel returns to the action film genre in this interesting post war look at the world where governments are no longer in control. Vin is a mercenary for hire, ready to retire and call it quits, but unable to return to the US. Gerard Depardieu plays an interesting role as Gorsky, the stereotypical Russian mob boss whose only interest is the base things in life and what he can do to have them. Michelle Yeoh gives a formidable performance as Sister Rebecca, and I am certain she was chosen for her obvious skills as both actress and karate master. The film moves well, has the right amount of tension between the players, and never deviates from the plot, which in itself is basic. The scenery and graphics are good, but you can tell the director is not getting his way with the film. Apparently, there were a lot of disagreements between the director and the studio, and the infighting is obvious when you watch the film and listen to the dialog. Hat's off to Vin Diesel, who turned down the lead in “Hitman” to be in this film. Talk about bad choices, but how can you know? Rated PG-13, which in this case is so wrong for a movie of this type, the violence never rises above the level of a video game, so the kids are pretty safe, and the language, well, they've heard it before. Personally I would love to see this one remade in about 10 years with the director being in charge. Give it David Twohy, he'd know what to do with it. A good rental, not a collectible. /p>

xXx - 2002

Revolution Studios, Original Film

Directed by Rob Cohen

Cast:

• Xander Cage – Vin Diesel
• Augustus Gibbons – Samuel L. Jackson
• Yelena – Asia Argento
• Yorgi – Marton Csokas
• Toby Lee Shavers – Michael Roof
• Milan Sova – Richy Müller
• Kirill – Werner Daehn
• Kolya – Petr Jákl
• El Jefe – Danny Trejo

Story: The NSA is trying to infiltrate a very nasty group of criminals in the Czech Republic, but every time they send in an agent, he is identified and killed. Call in Augustus Gibbons, and his plan to recruit new talent from outside the agency...way outside. They go through an elaborate testing process and the winner is: Xander Cage. Xander is reluctant, to say the least. “Do I look like a fan of Law Enforcement?!”, but Gibbons encourages him to take the assignment or spend the rest of his life in prison. He flys to Prague, where the local authorities don't want him there any more than he wants to be there, and meets up with the leader of Anarchy 99, a group of former Russian soldiers with a plan to eliminate the governments of the world and create total anarchy. His mission? Stop them at all costs.

Review: Triple X, is an updated version of James Bond battling the evil forces of SMERSH or SPECTRE or whatever group of baddies are in the mix at the time. Vin's character, the extreme sport athlete known as Xander Cage, is the ideal candidate for this type of assignment. He's agile, quick on his feet, and knows how to deal with the counter culture. Some people have said in reviews he is not “acting” in this film, but they are probably the same folks who feel that Anthony Hopkins is just another pretentious Englishman. Samuel L. Jackson does an excellent job of protraying the pragmatic NSA operative who realizes the world is changing, even if his superiors do not. Marton Csokas (and the rest of his mob) are all two dimensional, stereotypical bad guys, and the good guys are the same...which is exactly what they needed to be for this film. Asia Argento may never win an academy award, but she rises to the task in xXx portraying Yelena, the forgotton FSB agent who is trying to survive. The real treats in the film are the inclusion of Danny Trejo as the Columbian drug lord and Michael Roof as Toby Lee Shavers, the “Q” of the NSA who has only two loves, making impossible weapons and chasing (unsuccessfully) hot women, of which there are plenty in this film. In short, this is an incredibly adept and insightful parody of the Bond genre that has been railroaded as an attempt at a serious action film. And that is particularly disturbing considering how often we use the letter X to denote eXtreme. When you watch this film, enjoy it for what it is, a flight of fantasy taken to the Extreme. Rated PG-13 for violence and language and some innuendo, the teens in the house ought to enjoy this as much as anyone who likes Bond genre films. If you are a collector of spy films, this is a must have.

The Chronicles of Riddick - 2004

Universal Pictures, Radar Pictures, One Race Productions

Directed by David Twohy

Cast:

• Riddick – Vin Diesel
• Lord Marshal – Colm Feore
• Dame Vaako – Thandie Newton
• Aereon – Judi Dench
• Lord Vaako – Karl Urban
• Kyra – Alexa Davalos
• The Purifier – Linus Roache
• Toombs – Nick Chinlund
• Imam – Keith David

Story: Riddick, the escaped murderer from the movie Pitch Black, is being pursued by mercenaries on an isolated planet. He avoids their attempt to capture him and instead strands the survivors on the planet to pursue the man who sent them: the Imam, one of the two others to escape the dark planet. When he finds him, he learns of the Necromancers, a race of conquerors traveling across the universe to convert all humanity to their faith. Riddick learns he is from the planet Furya, a planet already destroyed by the Necromancers. At first, Riddick is unwilling to get involved, but soon it becomes apparent he must fight or die. He allows himself to be captured by Mercs to rescue the girl Jack, now known as Kyra, from a maximum security prison, then returns to the planet to face the Lord Marshal to test their creedo: “You Keep What You Kill”.

Review: Once again Vin Diesel brings to life the vicious, calculating anti-hero Riddick, the convict who prefers to kill instead of negotiate. Riddick is living a life of arduous survival, preferring the isolation of the frozen planet to the company of humans. When he learns the Imam is the man who has set the bounty for him, he journeys to discover why. Keith David recreates the Imam from Pitch Black as if he had never left the role, and introduces us to Aereon, the elemental being in the form of Judi Dench, whose powerful acting and presence adds both drama and authenticity to the film. Nick Chinlund excels in a role custom made for him, and Colm Feore is magnificent as the Lord Marshal, the holy half-dead who has seen the Underverse. Linus Roache, in one of two films he has worked on with Diesel (the other, Find Me Guilty, perhaps led to his role as the Assistant DA on Law and Order), and while his role is not as big as I would have liked, his presence and eloquence as the Purifier adds significantly to the film. Karl Urban, who has appeared in other fantasy roles (Priest, Star Trek), presents a more powerful, controlled soldier of the faith, while Thandie Newton as his ambitious wife provides the right balance to the struggle for power within any authoritarian regime. Alexa Davalos is excellent as Kyra, defiant and deadly to the last. Even the extended version is rated PG-13 for language and violence, but little sexual content. Since Vin will be recreating Riddick in a third film next year, I would say this is a collectible if you are a fan of the first two, or just a fan of good science fiction.

Pitch Black - 2000

Polygram Filmed Entertainment, Interscope Communications

Directed by David Twohy

Cast:

• Richard B. Riddick – Vin Diesel
• Carolyn Fry – Radha Mitchell
• William J. Johns – Cole Hauser
• Abu “Imam” al-Walid – Keith David
• Paris P. Ogilvie – Lewis Fitz-Gerald
• Sharon “Shazza” Montgomery – Claudia Black
• Jack / Jackie – Rhiana Griffith

Story: A space freighter is making a long haul, the crew and passengers in suspended animation, when disaster strikes. A meteor shower sends bullet sized fragments through the hull, waking the crew, or what's left of them. The captain is dead before he even leaves his chamber, and the second officer and docking pilot have to think fast to save their lives and the lives of the passengers. When it is over, only the docking pilot and a handful of passengers remain alive, and they are on a hostile planet with no apparent foliage or water, and three suns. One of the passengers is a murder on his way back to prison, the enigmatic Richard B. Riddick, another the bounty hunter bringing him back to prison. Riddick escapes his bonds and flees the company, but the others are more concerned with finding water and trying to find shelter. Zeke has taken upon himself the duty of burying the corpses they can find, but when he does he is attacked and killed by something. The blame immediately falls on Riddick, but when he is captured he denies killing Zeke. Soon the castaways discover a deserted mining camp with a shuttle they might be able to use for escape, but they also discover a horrifying secret. The planet is inhabited by creatures who can only hunt in darkness...and the planet is about to go into total eclipse.

Review: The plot in this film is pretty straight forward, and certainly not original in the scheme of science fiction. The characters are somewhat predictable, with the Imam leading and caring for his three teenaged followers on a great Hadj to New Mecca, the docking pilot having her first “command” thrust upon her, the bounty hunter a junkie hooked on pain killers, the entrepreneur who cares more about his cargo that the situation, a kid traveling alone, a provocatively beautiful woman who is apparently traveling for work, and a hard core killer with eyes that glow and the ability to see in the dark. Okay, so that last character isn't so predictable. As a matter of fact, Vin Diesel portrays a thinking killer who displays none of the classic psychotic behaviors we are used to in a “villain”. Instead, Riddick is a cold, calculating man who carefully reads the people around him. Radha Mitchell is excellent in her role, letting the inexperience of command shake her confidence while she attempts to lead the group into the right decisions. Keith David is the man of God, the man who always finds the hope in the situation and tries to encourage others to do the same. Cole Hauser is a perfect sociopath, coldly deciding who should be sacrificed as long as he survives. The film moves at a good pace, makes one or two logical flaws in the plot, but overall entertains and apparently creates a memorable character in the form of Riddick, who we see next in The Chronicles of Riddick, our next review. Rated R for violence and gore, and language, this film is collectible for Vin Diesel fans and anyone who likes good science fiction.